christmas 2014!

Our whirlwind Christmas is finally wrapped up and we (well most of us) had a great time!  Every year I think, "this has to be the most fun age for Christmas with Colin," and this year I really think it was.  There is nothing like the enthusiasm of a five year old boy to get you in the spirit.  

He started the day by storming our room like the FBI at 6 am wanting to know if Santa came.  We released him to go check downstairs, and he came back 45 seconds later with a full report on how many cookies had been consumed, where the stockings were, whether they were full, etc.  We could barely contain him, so we headed down to open stockings.  You will note that it is still pitch dark outside.  

Surprisingly Chacha couldn't sleep through the commotion so she came down too.  Since she can't really eat candy yet she found puffs in her stocking.  And proceeded to eat almost the entire thing at 6 am.  Great start to the day.

MINION!  (she was enthralled to get two more from Uncle Adam for a set which she is now taking everywhere with her.  So funny).

This is around the time of the morning where we lost Grandma Pat to a very unfortunate bad spill down our stairs :( .   Poor Grandma spent the whole morning at the ER and came home with a broken arm.  We hope you feel better soon and are so sorry that you missed all the festivities.  We tried to hold the kids back but finally relented and they opened our presents, saving most of Grandma and Grandpa's for when they returned so they could at least see them open some!

These kids were spoiled, but both were so happy and having so much fun with their new toys, it was worth it.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle PJs, mask and weaponry made for a very happy little boy.

Charlotte's sit and spin was a big hit!

My two children together are still under the weight limit for this toy.  I do feed them.

Charlotte's Lion toy from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Ron, and "Big Baby", which Grandma and G gave her, also have been going for spins.

the only picture I got with either of my kids all day...

Princess castle from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Ron was a hit with both kids.  

Loving his mini foosball table and has been challenging everyone to matches.  Claims he will soon be able to beat Uncle Adam.  Challenge accepted?

Lady dressing up in her new shoes and jacket and carrying empty gift bags around like purses.

We headed over to Grandma Kitty and G's for some more family time, food and more presents.  These two were actually pretty good and patient!  How cute are they?

By this point, Colin has perfected ripping open his gifts...

... and offered his services to Charlotte as well...

and Zoe...

The weather was even good enough for running around in the yard without coats on.  Can't beat that for Christmas!

Other than Pat's fall, we had a great Christmas and it was nice to be able to see and spend time with so many friends and family for the past few days.  Hope everyone's Christmas was Merry!

christmas "concerts"

So the kids had their first holiday concerts at school this week.  Well.. sort of.  Here's Colin's class getting ready to sing.  He's on the far right in the front row...

all smiles pre-performance

this crew looks like a handful...

charlotte was intrigued by this performance...

It was ... a total trainwreck.  An adorable trainwreck, but nonetheless...  

one side of the class was a little more "exuberant" on their timing.. rendering most of the songs a round between one side of the stage and the other.  

poor colin got stage fright when he saw "all the people smiling at him", rendering him unable to sing most of the songs, on account of having "too much slobber in his mouth that made me have to keep swallowing."  haha.  I've been there buddy.  Poor guy.

Charlotte's was the following night.  Do I have footage of that event?  No I do not.  Charlotte was appalled that we would have the nerve to bring her back to daycare after she'd been there all day.  She did not want to be put down, and made her thoughts on joining her friends at the front of the room very clearly known.  So while her friends "performed," Charlotte sat on mommy's lap in the audience.  Meanwhile, Colin decided he'd quite like to perform that night, belting out songs from the audience over the poor toddlers.  

So not a great year for the Hanson performers.  Maybe next year.  I remain convinced that both of them are dramatic enough to someday perform on stage. 

yoga babe

Charlotte has been learning some yoga poses in her class.  Here she is showing us Butterfly Pose.

christmas extravaganza day!

Saturday we went Christmas crazy around here.  Having just barely finished unpacking and decorating this house, I wasn't exactly in the mood to start.. unpacking and decorating for Christmas.  Luckily my little elves were enthusiastic enough for all of us.  So, we decided to throw ourselves into Christmas this weekend.  We had a great day :)

Colin finally got the countdown chain he'd been begging for.  Sure, it looks like your standard red and green, but if you know my eldest, you know that's an orange and green chain.  Whatever, it works.  

Daddy and Colin headed out to meet Santa in City Park!  

I do not know why this Santa has a dog instead of a reindeer, but Colin wasn't complaining. 

Colin had Santa cracking up as he noted, "you're a negotiator, aren't you." 

back at home, we got our tree up and decorated... 

charlotte was around too...

Then we headed out for an early dinner at the mall (olga's!!) and Colin was beside himself when he got to ride on this train... I mean he was gleeful!

We headed that way so that we could go drive through the Way of Lights in Belleville.  No pics but the kids were enthralled.  Hoping to make it a tradition!

thanksgiving (weekend) 2014

We had such a nice, long, relaxing thanksgiving this year.  When you don't give up 8+ hours of your holiday weekend for driving, you get to enjoy a lot more.  I guess I was enjoying my day a little too much because I completely forgot to take any pictures of the kids on Thanksgiving itself.  

Luckily, among all the other things we have to be thankful for this year, being in town near family allowed us to celebrate family and food all weekend long.  

Zoe gives thumbs up to our now-traditional Snack Day.

Charlotte is also a fan.

 action shot!

It was great to have so much time with everyone.. Charlotte got to spend lots of time with her aunt and uncle and managed to get everyone to play peek a boo with her.

yes, she's wearing a hat and mittens with a sleeveless jersey.  This is how she cheered on Mizzou football.  Must have worked! 

We were thankful for gorgeous weather that allowed us to play in the backyard.  Can't beat that.

Charlotte did some dancing.  (This has nothing to do with thanksgiving, but it was cute)

And don't worry, most importantly, there was lots and lots of pie.  

Happy thanksgiving!  So thankful to spend it with all of you this year. 

fancy lady

I know I've previously mentioned Charlotte's love of accessorizing.. but she has taken it to another level lately.  Whatever she can get her hands on - jewelry, shades, and most of all HATS - she wants to wear.

She did this to herself this weekend (I have since hung my jewelry up where she can't get to it).  Couldn't have been prouder.  I think the snow boots and Colin's hat really add to the look. 

But it's not just at home that she likes to be fancy.  Apparently she refuses to take off her hat at school.  So... we get a lot of daily reports from daycare that look like this...

Here's crazy in action on a particularly fancy day... infant racoon hat, necklace, and mittens?

What a nut.  These will come out when she's a famous fashion designer someday, I promise :)

first snow of the year...

Starting early this year, aren't we?  Hopefully this does not foreshadow a winter like last year.

There wasn't really enough to build an igloo (Colin's first suggestion) but just enough to throw some snowballs around. Pardon the bad pictures I took from the warmth of the foyer.